Cyber security researchers have confirmed that the Safe.theappstar.online is a browser hijacker. When downloaded and launched onto a PC, this browser hijacker quickly changes the Chrome, Edge, Mozilla Firefox and IE web-browser’s settings such as default search provider, start page and newtab page to its own web site without any permission. For this reason, every time you run the affected browser, it being re-directed to the Safe.theappstar.online page. Even though you have removed its address from your web-browser’s settings, after restart your internet browser, the annoying web-page still appears.
In addition, the Safe.theappstar.online browser hijacker may also alter the search provider selected in the web-browser. When you try to search on the affected web browser, you will be presented with search results, consisting of advertisements and Google (or Yahoo, or Bing) search results for your query. Among these search results can occur links that lead to unwanted and ad pages.
Some hijacker infections also contain adware (also known as ‘ad-supported’ software) that has the ability to open annoying advertisements or collect lots of personal information about you which can be transferred third party companies. These undesired advertisements may be shown in the form of pop-unders, pop-ups, in-text ads, video ads, text links or banners or even massive full page ads. Most of the adware is made to open ads, but some adware is form of spyware that often used to track users to collect your user data.
By following step-by-step guidance below it is easy to delete Safe.theappstar.online from Mozilla Firefox, MS Edge, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Chrome and your personal computer. Learn how to detect and get rid of hijacker infection and other harmful apps, as well as how to run a full system virus scan.
Remove Safe.theappstar.online redirect
The following few simple steps will help you to remove Safe.theappstar.online from the Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Chrome and Edge. Moreover, the few simple steps below will allow you to remove malware such as PUPs, ad supported software and toolbars that your personal computer may be infected. Please do the instructions step by step. If you need assist or have any questions, then ask for our assistance or type a comment below. Certain of the steps will require you to restart your PC system or shut down this webpage. So, read this guide carefully, then bookmark or print it for later reference.
To remove Safe.theappstar.online, execute the following steps:
- How to manually remove Safe.theappstar.online
- How to automatically remove Safe.theappstar.online hijacker infection
- Run AdBlocker to block Safe.theappstar.online and stay safe online
- How to Safe.theappstar.online browser hijacker get installed onto system
- To sum up
How to manually remove Safe.theappstar.online
Read this section to know how to manually get rid of the Safe.theappstar.online hijacker. Even if the step-by-step tutorial does not work for you, there are several free malware removers below that can easily handle such browser hijacker infections.
Removing the Safe.theappstar.online, check the list of installed applications first
The main cause of start page or search engine hijacking could be PUPs, adware or other unwanted programs that you may have unintentionally installed on the system. You need to identify and delete all questionable apps.
Press Windows button , then press Search . Type “Control panel”and press Enter. If you using Windows XP or Windows 7, then press “Start” and select “Control Panel”. It will display the Windows Control Panel as displayed in the figure below.
Further, click “Uninstall a program”
It will show a list of all programs installed on your computer. Scroll through the all list, and remove any suspicious and unknown software.
Get rid of Safe.theappstar.online redirect from Firefox
If the Firefox settings such as new tab, startpage and search engine by default have been modified by the hijacker infection, then resetting it to the default state can help. When using the reset feature, your personal information such as passwords, bookmarks, browsing history and web form auto-fill data will be saved.
Press the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and press the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu as on the image below.
A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, click “Refresh Firefox” button as shown below.
Follow the onscreen procedure to restore your Firefox internet browser settings to their original state.
Remove Safe.theappstar.online from Google Chrome
Reset Chrome settings will help you to completely reset your browser. The result of activating this function will bring Chrome settings back to its original settings. This can remove Safe.theappstar.online and disable malicious addons. However, your saved bookmarks and passwords will not be lost. This will not affect your history, passwords, bookmarks, and other saved data.
- First launch the Google Chrome and press Menu button (small button in the form of three dots).
- It will show the Google Chrome main menu. Choose More Tools, then press Extensions.
- You will see the list of installed add-ons. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guidance: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
- You will see the Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and press “Advanced” link.
- Scroll down again and click the “Reset” button.
- The Google Chrome will show the reset profile settings page as shown on the screen above.
- Next click the “Reset” button.
- Once this procedure is complete, your browser’s newtab, homepage and search engine by default will be restored to their original defaults.
- To learn more, read the post How to reset Chrome settings to default.
Get rid of Safe.theappstar.online search from Internet Explorer
The IE reset is great if your internet browser is hijacked or you have unwanted add-ons or toolbars on your web-browser, that installed by a malware.
First, start the Internet Explorer, then click ‘gear’ icon . It will show the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the internet browser, then click the “Internet Options” as shown on the image below.
In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Reset” button. The Internet Explorer will show the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” dialog box. Further, click the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, press the “Reset” button as displayed on the screen below.
Once the task is finished, click “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and reboot your system for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your browser’s default search provider, home page and newtab page to default state.
How to automatically remove Safe.theappstar.online hijacker infection
Manual removal steps may not be for everyone. Each Safe.theappstar.online removal step above, such as removing suspicious programs, restoring affected shortcut files, removing the hijacker from system settings, must be performed very carefully. If you are have doubts about the steps above, then we suggest that you use the automatic Safe.theappstar.online removal instructions listed below.
Automatically delete Safe.theappstar.online home page with Zemana AntiMalware
Zemana AntiMalware is extremely fast and ultra light weight malware removal tool. It will help you remove Safe.theappstar.online hijacker, ad-supported software, PUPs and other malware. This program gives real-time protection that never slow down your system. Zemana Anti-Malware is made for experienced and beginner computer users. The interface of this tool is very easy to use, simple and minimalist.
Installing the Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) is simple. First you will need to download Zemana by clicking on the following link. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.
164034 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
Once downloading is complete, close all programs and windows on your PC. Double-click the set up file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as displayed in the following example, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” that will help you install Zemana on your system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once install is done successfully, Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as displayed on the image below.
Now click the “Scan” button for checking your system for the browser hijacker infection that cause a redirect to Safe.theappstar.online page. This task can take some time, so please be patient. While the Zemana tool is scanning, you can see number of objects it has identified as being infected by malware.
Once the scan get completed, Zemana Free will display a scan report. Review the results once the utility has finished the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply press “Next” button. The Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) will delete browser hijacker related to Safe.theappstar.online search and add threats to the Quarantine. After the procedure is done, you may be prompted to restart the computer.
Run HitmanPro to get rid of Safe.theappstar.online redirect
HitmanPro is a free removal tool. It removes potentially unwanted software, adware, browser hijackers and unwanted internet browser plugins. It’ll identify and remove hijacker which changes web browser settings to replace your default search engine, newtab and start page with Safe.theappstar.online webpage. Hitman Pro uses very small machine resources and is a portable program. Moreover, Hitman Pro does add another layer of malware protection.
Please go to the link below to download the latest version of HitmanPro for Microsoft Windows. Save it to your Desktop.
After the downloading process is finished, open the folder in which you saved it. You will see an icon like below.
Double click the Hitman Pro desktop icon. After the utility is started, you will see a screen as displayed in the figure below.
Further, press “Next” button for checking your computer for the browser hijacker responsible for redirections to Safe.theappstar.online. This task can take quite a while, so please be patient. Once HitmanPro has finished scanning, Hitman Pro will prepare a list of undesired programs adware like below.
You may delete items (move to Quarantine) by simply click “Next” button. It will show a dialog box, click the “Activate free license” button.
Delete Safe.theappstar.online with Malwarebytes
Manual Safe.theappstar.online search removal requires some computer skills. Some files and registry entries that created by the browser hijacker infection may be not completely removed. We recommend that use the Malwarebytes Free that are completely free your system of hijacker. Moreover, the free program will allow you to remove malware, PUPs, adware and toolbars that your computer can be infected too.
Download MalwareBytes Free by clicking on the following link.
326387 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
Once downloading is finished, close all windows on your personal computer. Further, run the file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up like below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” that will allow you install MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) on the PC system. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once setup is finished successfully, click Finish button. Then MalwareBytes Free will automatically start and you can see its main window as shown on the image below.
Next, press the “Scan Now” button to begin checking your personal computer for the Safe.theappstar.online hijacker and other browser’s malicious addons. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your PC. During the scan MalwareBytes Anti Malware will find threats exist on your computer.
After the system scan is complete, a list of all threats found is created. Next, you need to click “Quarantine Selected” button.
The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will delete browser hijacker responsible for changing your web-browser settings to Safe.theappstar.online. When disinfection is finished, you may be prompted to reboot your computer. We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the process of using the MalwareBytes Free to remove hijackers, adware and other malware.
Run AdBlocker to block Safe.theappstar.online and stay safe online
By installing an ad blocking program like AdGuard, you’re able to stop Safe.theappstar.online, autoplaying video ads and get rid of lots of distracting and intrusive ads on sites.
- AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link. Save it on your Windows desktop.
Adguard download
26627 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- After downloading it, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- Once the install is done, press “Skip” to close the setup program and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.
- In most cases, the default settings are enough and you don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you launch your computer, AdGuard will launch automatically and block pop ups, Safe.theappstar.online redirect, as well as other malicious or misleading websites. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon called AdGuard, that is located on your desktop.
How to Safe.theappstar.online browser hijacker get installed onto system
These days some free programs makers bundle additional applications which could be potentially unwanted programs such as the Safe.theappstar.online browser hijacker, with a view to making some money. These are not freeware as install an unwanted programs on to your MS Windows system. So whenever you install a new free program that downloaded from the Internet, be very careful during installation. Carefully read the EULA (a text with I ACCEPT/I DECLINE button), choose custom or manual install method, reject all third-party programs.
To sum up
Now your computer should be clean of the hijacker responsible for redirections to Safe.theappstar.online. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted popup ads and intrusive malicious web sites) and Zemana Free (to periodically scan your personal computer for new hijackers and other malware). Probably you are running an older version of Java or Adobe Flash Player. This can be a security risk, so download and install the latest version right now.
If you are still having problems while trying to get rid of Safe.theappstar.online from the Firefox, Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, then ask for help here here.